Lessons from the Norwegian Folk High School Tradition (original) (raw)
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Editorial: A short introduction to research on the Nordic folk high schools
Johan Lövgren and Henrik Nordvall: A short introduction to research on the Nordic folk high schools. Nordic Studies in Education, Vol. 37, 2-2017, pp. 61–68. ISSN 1891-5914. Although some shared characteristics may be found among folk high schools in the Nordic countries - such as the role as a pedagogical alternative to the public-school system, the frequency of boarding schools and the informal relations between teacher and student - they have originated and developed differently. Based on previous research, this introduction points out such national differences related to both philosophical foundations and geopolitical factors. Before introducing the articles for the thematic issue, a table is presented which depicts the number of folk high schools, offered credits and types of courses in each country.
Although some shared characteristics may be found among folk high schools in the Nordic countries - such as the role as a pedagogical alternative to the public-school system, the frequency of boarding schools and the informal relations between teacher and student - they have originated and developed differently. Based on previous research, this introduction points out such national differences related to both philosophical foundations and geopolitical factors. Before introducing the articles for the thematic issue, a table is presented which depicts the number of folk high schools, offered credits and types of courses in each country.
Norwegian folk high schools redefine their role as valuebased institutions
Nordisk kulturpolitisk tidsskrift02 / 2015 (Volum 18), 2015
The Norwegian folk high schools are value-based institutions with a 150-year history. As such, these schools have a continual need to reinterpret and redefine the values on which they were founded. This article examines how the Norwegian folk high schools redefine the religious values that are part of their movement’s heritage. Initially, the context of the Norwegian folk high schools is presented with an overview of the history of the movement and the laws governing the schools, along with relevant research. The second part of the article refers to an empirical study involving the text analysis of value documents from two folk high schools. Reification is introduced as the central analytical concept and defined from Etienne Wenger’s use of the term in his presentation of the theory of communities of practice. In the analysis, the value documents are understood as a presentation of reifications in the schools’ negotiation of meaning. As the reified values are categorised, the text analysis concludes that the documents focus on relational reifications. As the schools reintegrate traditional religious values, these are characteristically bridged or translated by using relational reifications and connecting these to Grundtvig’s legacy.
Fosen folkehøjskole: Norway's organic folk high school--A school with goals and meaning
Fosen is a folk high school where the Scandinavian tradition of non-academic schools for young people has been part of their comprehensive education plan since 1844 when Rødding, Denmark built the first of its kind. These are schools designed after the inspiration of Nickolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig who believed that education for the common person should be indigenous and “living” –dannelse—rather than based on conceptual academics taught in dominant languages—typically Latin. He believed in education for rural people that would provide real living skills and empower them toward self-advocacy. These schools are the basis of community colleges in the U.S., public adult education programs throughout Maine, and many folk art and culture school through the United States.
The Reflective Community: Learning processes in Norwegian folk high schools
This thesis presents a study of learning processes in Norwegian folk high schools. The folk high schools play a decisive role in Nordic educational system as alternative pedagogical institutions. The Danish roots of the schools can be traced to the theologian N.F.S. Grundtvig and his ideals of a learning that develops not just the mind but the whole student. Based on an empirical study of two Norwegian folk high schools, this thesis asks what learning processes take place in these schools. From an initially wide research question, the study narrows its focus to two related concepts linked to the history and identity of the Norwegian folk high schools. The sub-questions of the study ask how values and religion can be seen as a part of the learning processes of the schools. The theoretical framework of the study connects to sociocultural theory, with a special focus on the critique and development of Etienne Wenger’s theories of social learning. The theoretical construct defines values and religion from their use in practice. The dialogical or monological discourses of values and religion described by the students in the empirical material become central in the analysis of the study. The empirical study was carried out as a qualitative study influenced by ethnographic field studies. The period of active fieldwork lasted from August, 2014 to May, 2015. The empirical material includes a) document studies with a focus on documents exhibiting the basic values of the two schools, b) observations characterized by progressive focusing, c) interviews both with mixed groups of students through the school year and final interviews with prefects, and d) the writing of reflective texts by students at the end of the year. Three sub-studies (presented in three articles) each refer to one or two of these parts of the empirical study. After the initial document study, the empirical fieldwork sought to map the experience of students in the two schools. The empirical material was designed to provide a picture of students' experience of the folk high schools and, through this, of the meaning negotiated by students at the two schools. The findings of the study show how a student’s former identifications become secondary in the processes of identification and dis-identification with the practices of the schools. The schools are found to represent a boundary-oriented pedagogy characterized by a shared negotiation of meaning. These characteristics created an openness for students to follow an outward as well as an inward learning trajectory in reference to the values of the schools. The discernible identities of the school’s staff in areas of values and religion and dialogical discourses in the school community were found to constitute central parts in the learning processes. These findings describe the distinctive learning community that the folk high schools represent, as conceptualized in the title of the thesis: The reflective community.
The Nordic Folk High School Teacher: Identity, Work and Education
The Nordic Folk High School Teacher: Identity, Work and Education., 2023
This anthology presents the Nordic folk high school teacher through thirteen research articles combined under three themes: identity, work, and education, each part capped by overarching summary chapters. The folk high schools are given a central role in the democratic development of the Nordic region and are described as a significant influence on adult education globally, but there have been few regional research projects describing the schools. The inclusion of research covering five Nordic countries in a peer reviewed anthology makes this publication a unique portrayal, both of the schools' common identity and their national variations.
Folk High Schools: An Important Part of Adult Education in Sweden
Aris Resources Bulletin, 2000
Sweden's 136 folk high schools are open to anyone over 18 years of age. Established in Denmark in 1844, folk high schools were introduced to Sweden in 1968. Folk high schools can be attributed to the educational ideas of Nikolai Frederik Severin Grundtvig (1783-1872), who wanted to see education where people learned from their experiences as well as from books and where they learned to think and speak for themselves and solve problems. All folk high schools in Sweden run a general education course that is designed for adults who have not completed secondary education and that can lead directly to a university. Specialist and various short courses are also offered. Although folk high schools still reflect the concepts espoused by Grundtvig, they have been under pressure to change in response to the demands of the economic rationalist state, including funding cuts and the requirement that additional courses must be self-funding. Perhaps the greatest threat to folk high schools is the move away from a focus on community and belonging to 'a people' or 'folk' and towards the individual. Although much of what happens in adult education in Australia and Sweden is similar, adult education appears to be a much more integral part of the Swedish education system than of the Australian education system. (MN) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Johan Lövgren is a doctoral student at MF Norwegian School of Theology in Oslo. He has a Cand.Theol. from Uppsala University. His research interest is learning theory with a main focus on faith and value based practice in the folk high school movement. ABSTRACT The Norwegian folk high schools are value-based institutions with a 150-year history. As such, these schools have a continual need to reinterpret and redefine the values on which they were founded. This article examines how the Norwegian folk high schools redefine the religious values that are part of their movement's heritage. Initially, the context of the Norwegian folk high schools is presented with an overview of the history of the movement and the laws governing the schools, along with relevant research. The second part of the article refers to an empirical study involving the text analysis of value documents from two folk high schools. Reification is introduced as the central analytical concept and defined from Etie...
On the history of Folk High Schools in Sweden
Folk High School – School for Life. Editors: M. Byczkowski, T. Maliszewski, E. Przybylska, Wieżyca 2003, pp.108-120 , 2003
The chapter presents an outline of the history of Folk High Schools in Sweden. The analysis includes mainly social and political determinants of their functioning in Poland’s northern neighbor. The main trends of the evolution of social functions of these institutions has also been presented encompassing 145 years of their functioning: from the educational center for peasantry (before 1918) – through the educational institution catering for the needs of social movements (1918-1968) to the concept of skola för alla (Eng.: School for All). Because of the gaps in international writing in this scope, an emphasis has been put on ideas concerning the origins of Folk High Schools in Sweden as well as on a quantitative analysis of their activities during the last decades. The entire analysis has been presented against the background of Polish interests concerning the Swedish folkhögskolor (and folkbildning) from the half of the 19th century until the present day.